Lucius's attack hits, doing 9 points of damage and taking out the Swordfighter. He gets the chalice she had on her. He also gets 32 EXP from the kill, leveling up. Lucius's maximum HP, Skl, and Def all increase by one point.

Spoiler: Lucius's new stats

Lida, if you'd like Jade to move before Ardan this turn, speak now or forever hold your peace. Siris is just within range of Jade's breath.

Well since you'd probably one-shot Siris why not let me heal Crelarus let him take a shot at her (experience points for trying) and then you can swoop in and finish her off. We should try and get as much experience out of an enemy who'll take more than one hit as we can.

As 24 hours have almost passed I'm going to sit here and just dose up Crelarus with the magicks.

Made by Chesu+Zombee

You thought you could be safe in your courts, with your laws and attorneys to protect you. In this world only I am law, my word is fact, my power is absolute.

Jade's attack hits, doing 23 points of damage and defeating Siris. Miraculously, Siris's Javelin and the loot she had on her are not incinerated. Since Jade doesn't have any room for items, the loot is sent to storage. Jade's transform gauge falls to 12/30 and she gains 66 EXP, leveling up. Her maximum HP and Skl both increase by 1. With Siris's defeat, this mission is over. Posting in the narrative thread is allowed again. To help prevent confusion, whenever you intend to post in the narrative thread, please announce what parts of the mission you're going to post about here first. Please also allow the other players time to post what their characters do, too. I will update the character information in the main post within the next 24 hours.

The bandit Jade took out in the beginning has just come out the doors.

Please excuse the double post, but I feel this would be an appropriate time to remind everyone that the narrative thread is open. For everyone's convenience, here is a link to the beginning of the battle in the OOC thread. With any post you make in the narrative thread, please first state here what actions you intend to cover in your post. This will help prevent anyone from stepping on anyone else's toes. It will also help everyone keep track of what part of the battle we're on.

On that note, I probably should have cleared this matter up beforehand, but what is everyone's view on controlling hostile NPCs in the narrative? The first pertinent example is likely to be upon us soon; Jade's first action was taking out that bandit near the monastery that Ardan and his companions were approaching (Pierre mentioned as much in his post). I feel it would be ideal for players to be able to control enemies' reactions during such moments. For example, under this proposed system, when Crelarus is attacking Siris, DoMaya would be dictating her actions. Then when Dorran is attacking Siris, Cold is in charge of what Siris does. I'd control the enemy during the enemy's turn, but it would largely be limited to actions that prompt a reaction from the player characters. For example, when Siris attacked Crelarus, I'd control her attack and the hit (since the attack hit, I'd probably also decide where it hits), but I'd leave the matter of Crelarus's counterattack to DoMaya unless explicitly granted permission to control Crelarus during that action--and I'd rather not control other players' characters unless there is absolutely no way around it.

Finally, feel free to flesh out any individual action. For example, with Crelarus's aforementioned attack against Siris, DoMaya is completely free to include far more attacks than would happen in an actual Fire Emblem game. If he so desired, he could have Crelarus attack several times with his sword being parried most of the time before he finally gets a hit in.

As a side-note, polearms, despite having wooden shafts, are made of pretty strong stuff. Cutting through one with a sword or axe in just one blow is next to impossible, especially when the polearm in question is moving with the person holding it. If it was that easy to render a spear useless, spears would have been phased out soon after the first swords were developed.

Hmm sure seems fine also I apologise if anyone was wanting a 'last hit' post with Siris or something, I can always cut my post away and just use it later if folks want to post about finishing the battle.

Made by Chesu+Zombee

You thought you could be safe in your courts, with your laws and attorneys to protect you. In this world only I am law, my word is fact, my power is absolute.

For the most part, we're now just waiting on Cold to have Dorran get the torch from Jade and light it when he heads down the path. Save for Jade killing that bandit, nothing really happens for the first few turns other than people moving.

Here's hoping Cold notices quickly. In other news, I've finally finished the lore entry on animism and made a slight update to the entry on Anima Magic. Also, due to animism's connection to spirits, I've thrown in an entry on spirits.

Spoiler: Animism

Animism is technically an umbrella term for any religion that attributes a soul or spiritual essence to non-sentient beings. The existence of spirits, like the existence of the Goddess, is a proven fact in this world, as many mages have seen spirits, some even interacting with them. The conflict between animism and Ashuneranism stems largely from the question of whether the spirits are to be worshipped and whether they should even be interacted with. The Church of Ashunera is monotheistic and believes that only Ashunera should be worshipped. The primary reasoning behind such a belief is that the Church considers Ashunera superior to all other beings. Therefore, worshipping any other beings, such as spirits, would mean tacitly declaring them her equals, which is blasphemy in their eyes. In addition, many animist sects attribute most natural disasters to the actions of spirits. As such, while the Church does not officially regard spirits as evil, and has not formally declared them responsible for natural disasters, its teachings discourage interacting with spirits on the grounds that they are dangerous.

Despite this, the Church only supports the suppression of hostile sects such as the Pepelites. Friendly sects, such as the Jivotists, are treated as misguided, but harmless. As such, the Church’s treatment of them rarely goes beyond sending missionaries to attempt to convert animists to Ashuneranism; the threat and use of violence as a means of conversion is forbidden. However, it is not unheard of for renegade priests to adopt a “with us or against us” attitude toward animists and support hostility toward all sects. The Church does not condone such behavior, but it is rare for there to be any organized effort to punish those who engage in it. The only well-known recent case happened in 1039 when Isimud, the Bishop of Wenden, was defrocked for inciting the Wenden Massacre, a riot in which many animists living in and around the city of Wenden were murdered by Isimud’s congregation. Isimud’s successor called for his excommunication, but nothing came of it.

Animist beliefs vary from sect to sect. Some only worship spirits. Others worship spirits in addition to the Goddess. Which spirits are to be worshipped is also something that is not universally agreed upon by animists. Practices also tend to vary, usually in accordance with which spirits are worshipped. Some sects allow followers to favor certain spirits over others. Other sects require followers to worship the same spirits. Unlike Ashunerans, whose faith tends to be separate from their daily lives (monastics and other clergy notwithstanding), most animists have beliefs that cannot properly be separated from daily life. Because of this, and also in part due to past persecution by Ashunerans, most animists live in isolated communities with those who share their beliefs.

How a sect is treated by non-believers depends largely on two factors. The first factor is how it behaves toward non-believers. The second factor is non-believers’ recent experiences with animists. In Marad, animists are generally just as welcome as Ashunerans. Most of the animist sects in the Maradite Highlands are peaceful and friendly toward outsiders. Most prominently, Jivotists, whose beliefs forbid violence, are among the few animists who are willing to live among non-believers. By contrast, Calisians tend to be fearful of animists, if not outright hostile toward them. This is in large part because the Pepelites, the most violent sect in recorded history, terrorized the region now controlled by Calis until they were wiped out by Calis’s founders.

A unique aspect of animism—and one of its advantages over Ashuneranism—is the use of shamans as a means of communicating with spirits. While it is thought that Ashunera has not communicated with mortals since the Great Flood, spirits still readily communicate with those who have the power to see and hear them. Such people are typically skilled practitioners of Anima Magic known as shamans, but Vessels also have the power to communicate with spirits thanks to their housing a spirit within their own bodies. Shamans and Vessels, thanks to their power, can convey the knowledge and wisdom of the spirits to all those who are willing to hear.

Spoiler: Spirits

Save for a select few people, the inhabitants of Duat are in agreement on Ashunera, often simply called the Goddess, being the only divine being. However, there are also innumerable lesser supernatural beings, collectively referred to as spirits. Spirits can only be seen by sufficiently competent practitioners of Anima Magic. They are said to be souls without bodies. This is supported by the tendency of some spirits to inhabit physical objects or living beings. Though it is rare for a spirit to inhabit a person’s body, there are multiple people who have willingly shared their bodies with spirits. Such people are called Vessels. Spirits give their hosts incredible magical power, though Vessels have testified that their own souls are weakened by the spirits they share their bodies with. This can lead to Vessels seeming more distant and emotionless than regular people. In addition, a spirit leaves a mark on a Vessel when inhabiting his body, and said mark is indistinguishable from the marks that exist on Marked. This can cause problems for Beorc Vessels in societies where Marked are generally looked down upon and/or mistreated. Laguz Vessels instead tend to possess abnormally powerful transformations. A popular rumor is that Agdy was a Vessel, thus explaining his incredible strength in combat, though it remains only a rumor, and there are no reliable accounts of Agdy having a Vessel’s mark.

There are eight types of spirits: earth, water, dark, winter, wind, thunder, light, and fire. Each type of spirit is capable of inhabiting a person’s body, though each type has its own preferred places to be. In their natural form, all spirits look like wisps of glowing gas—except for dark spirits, which don’t glow. Each type of spirit has a type of spirit that it is naturally opposed to. This natural opposition is what most animists attribute natural disasters to; earthquakes supposedly happen when earth spirits attack wind spirits, for example. The simple “just ask them” approach to learning if they’re actually behind such phenomena tends to be futile, however, as some spirits claim responsibility while others deny responsibility. The opposition between spirits also surfaces in Vessels; someone carrying a winter spirit will usually have difficulty getting along with someone carrying a fire spirit, for example.

Earth spirits favor inhabiting the land and the creatures that live off of it. Most animists attribute earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to earth spirits fighting other spirits, though they are also said to give the soil the nutrients necessary for plants to grow. In addition, due to mortals’ connection to the land, earth spirits are generally the most sociable of the spirits, approaching and interacting with mortals much more readily than other spirits. Because of this, more Vessels share their bodies with earth spirits than any other type of spirit, though the spirits show a slight preference for Elephant Laguz, Bear Laguz, and Snake Laguz as Vessels. Earth spirits naturally oppose wind spirits and appear brown in their natural form.

Water spirits favor inhabiting the water and the creatures that live in it. Most water spirits stay in the rivers, lakes, and oceans, though they can occasionally be seen drifting up into the sky in small groups, and others come down to the ground when it rains. Most animists consider them responsible for the presence, excess, or lack of water, making them another group of spirits considered vital to life. Because people spend most of their lives on land, water spirits tend not to inhabit Vessels, although they do have a preference for Crocodile Laguz. Water spirits naturally oppose thunder spirits and appear blue in their natural form.

Dark spirits tend to dwell underground during the day, only surfacing during the night. Because of this and the fact that they do not glow, even mages and Vessels rarely see dark spirits. When a solar eclipse happens, dark spirits often come out of their hiding places, a phenomenon that has led to the belief among most animists that solar eclipses happen when dark spirits attempt to blot out the sun and make the surface world more pleasant for themselves. Because most people sleep during the night and are active during the day, dark spirits rarely inhabit Vessels, though they have a slight preference for Beorc. Dark spirits naturally oppose light spirits and appear black in their natural form.

Winter spirits favor cold places, congregating near the tops of mountains during the summer and spreading out across most of the land during the winter. Many animists believe that their annual departure from the mountains is what causes winter, although others believe winter is the cause of their departure rather than the other way around. Due to where they favor living, winter spirits generally inhabit Vessels that live in higher regions, such as the mountains and highlands in central Duat. Winter spirits naturally oppose fire spirits and appear pale blue in their natural form.

Wind spirits are usually high in the sky, occasionally swooping down when there is a powerful gust of wind near the ground. Some animists thus consider them to be the cause of such winds, although others see wind spirits as playful beings that are simply riding the gusts for excitement. Because of their preferred home, wind spirits have a special fondness of Eagle Laguz and Gold Dragon Laguz as Vessels, though they are willing to inhabit the body of anyone who spends enough time in the sky. As with winter spirits, most wind spirits’ Vessels live in higher regions, though temperature is less of an issue for them. Wind spirits naturally oppose earth spirits and appear green in their natural form.

Thunder spirits dwell in the sky, typically congregating in and around rain clouds, often coming down to the surface with bolts of lightning. Some animists believe it rains when water spirits are being chased out of the sky by thunder spirits, with lightning bolts being the thunder spirits attacking some water spirits in order to intimidate them into staying near the ground. Other think that, like wind spirits with gusts of wind, thunder spirits simply ride lightning bolts for fun. As with water spirits, thunder spirits almost never inhabit Vessels, though as with wind spirits, they have a slight preference for Eagle Laguz and Dragon Laguz due to their spending more time in the sky. Thunder spirits naturally oppose water spirits and appear yellow in their natural form.

Light spirits follow the sun in the sky, although some animists believe they move the sun across the sky instead. As such, most are only seen during the day, though some appear near fires during the night or follow the moon if it’s present. Some animists believe light spirits are what make fires and the moon glow and that they do so to scare off dark spirits that might harm them during the night. The simpler explanation is that they just congregate near sources of light. Though most people are active during the day, light spirits are usually in the sky, making it rare for them to interact with mortals. They tend to favor Beorc and Gold Dragon Laguz as Vessels, most likely due to their ability to generate light through magic or breath, respectively. Light spirits naturally oppose dark spirits and appear white in their natural form.

Fire spirits congregate in hot places. While most follow the sun in the sky alongside light spirits, others come down to the surface because of the fires that mortals light on the surface. A common story in various animist traditions is that fire was originally something only fire spirits could create. According to the story, the spirits taught mortals to make their own fires, but the mortals were impatient and never bothered to learn how to keep fires under control—hence why fires sometimes rage out of control and cause destruction. Fire spirits, like light spirits, favor Beorc and Gold Dragon Laguz as vessels, though they tend to be less sociable than light spirits. Fire spirits naturally oppose winter spirits and appear orange in their natural form.

In other other news, I just learned that here in 'murica, we spell it "worshiped" and "worshiping." ...Those spellings just feel... wrong. I can wrap my head around "color," but "worshiped" looks as though it should be pronounced "wur-shaipt."

and posted...sorry it took so long i've been busy lately and honestly had a hard time of thinking what to put down (not that what i put down was much) since all i really did in that time was move a bit and lite a torch >_>;;;

Well, next to a friendly dragon is a safe place to be. Next to a hostile dragon is one of the most dangerous places in existence. Anyway, nothing appears to happen during the enemy's turn. DoMaya, unless you want someone else to move first, it's now your turn.

I meant it's your turn to post in the narrative thread. I posted these events.

General Luigi wrote:

Anyway, during the enemy's turn, the Soldier moves toward Dorran, not noticing him since he's out of her vision range. She is surprised when she finally notices him one space away, stopping abruptly. A Bowman also approaches from the west, carrying an additional icon and a tapestry with him--also probably stolen from the monastery.

We're not reliving it step by step. It just so happens that in the narrative thread, the plot is currently waiting on the people involved in the fight.

October 17 edit: In light of DoMaya's decision to leave Court Records, I will be taking over control of Crelarus. Since there also appears to be general hesitation with regards to battle narrative, this is probably also a good time to discuss how we're going to address narratives for battles. Is a policy change in order? Given the fast-paced nature of battles, adhering to the one-paragraph minimum policy could prove challenging when dealing with regular enemies.

Since some of you might be shocked, yes, DoMaya chose to leave Court Records on October 8. This isn't the place to discuss it in detail. I can provide more details through a PM or you can just ask him about it yourself on Skype (though I can't vouch for how willing he will be to talk about it).

To be honest I was fine with the idea of mostly ignoring narratives in battles and just pausing the narrative, fighting the battle here, then maybe continuing the narrative after the battle where characters could refer back to it if they liked.

Made by Chesu+Zombee

You thought you could be safe in your courts, with your laws and attorneys to protect you. In this world only I am law, my word is fact, my power is absolute.

Hmmm...I do like the idea of the current system of following the person (or people) with the action in the RP in accordance with what is in this thread. However, there are a couple problems with what we have now. First of all, it is hard to determine exactly how many "actions" a post in the narrative thread should have and how to make it sound prettier than what's in this thread. Once I started posting in the narrative thread, this became easier on me, but figuring out where and how to start was difficult (as I'm sure the General is aware).

Secondly, I do see where Pierre is coming from because the RPers who have characters that don't really get involved in the action much (characters that are healers like Ardan) are just kind of sitting around, reading everyone else's posts. They may feel left out under the current system.

I can also see how sticking to the paragraph rule may be tricky in the narrative thread. I'm a long-winded person, anyway, so I found I could easily weave a lot into each action. However, once we get past this first battle and my character isn't as green, I would probably lose a lot of length in my posts. Certain actions do seem difficult to make a paragraph or more out of as well. Like you said, General, it could prove challenging to eke a paragraph out of "He stabbed his opponent in the chest with his sword, killing her instantly." I'm in favor of letting people post however long they deem appropriate, even if it does fall short of a paragraph at times.

I don't have much of a problem with Pierre's proposition of just sorting out the battles here and then skipping them in the narrative thread, with references to the battles. The only issues I take with that are: we'd lose some dynamic of people being different in battle than they are outside of it, and if the General planned on having any important plot points revealed through battle in the narrative thread, we'd lose them. Not entirely, since I'm sure the General can come up with a way to tell us these plot points anyway, but some of the authenticity of the reaction to these realizations from the characters may be lost as a result. Plus, we already went to the trouble of starting this one in the narrative thread (yay for the sunk cost fallacy).

I hope this isn't one of those times where I'm only supposed to post something if I have an actual idea for either a different system or how to fix the current one, because I don't have one.

While an idea is preferable to an opinion, opinions still need to be heard. One possibility that comes to mind is handling the battles the way they would be handled in the games. I could put any minor fights (such as combat with generic enemies) into a single post. This would mean I temporarily take over characters until a fight someone wants to post comes up, at which point whoever controls the involved characters would take over, only to return control to me once the combat they want to cover has ended.

hmm...i feel the main issue is since battle can take a good bit of time they tend to make it hard to go back and forth and decide how to go about all the actions of a battle without worry of stomping on other peoples characters

i think what we at least need to do is have a battle summery in this thread after the battles finished to give us a single area to look back to and expand upon for the rp...that is if we decide not to skip battles with a summery post in the rp.

Ooh! Hey, I like Cold's idea of having a summary here. That would make it so much easier than having to read through the entire battle multiple times.

Actually, what if we combined ideas here? What if we had the RPers post kind of their entrance into the battle (however long or short that may be. Like how in Fire Emblem, the new charries get their own little intro, with what they say and then how they interact with the MC, essentially. And this way newcomers who enter in actual battles instead of in the narrative thread beforehand have a way in.), then we had General kind of take control of our characters to summarize the middle of the battle with generic enemies, and then we took control back at the end of the battle with the boss fight or with the characters reaching their objective?

I'm just kind of throwing ideas out there, but what do y'all think? I hope I phrased the idea properly...

Sure, the only problem I have with glazing over the battles is important events like NPCs arriving, or fighting named characters.

I'd be happy for the action to stop for certain meaningful events to occur which could then be posted. I just think a lot of the mundane stuff slows us down massively (like passing a torch for example).

Made by Chesu+Zombee

You thought you could be safe in your courts, with your laws and attorneys to protect you. In this world only I am law, my word is fact, my power is absolute.

It took me a moment to figure out what you meant, but yes, I agree with the suggestion. I'll see if I can get Blak and Cold to give their input on your proposal. I imagine I can trust Pierre to spot and respond to your post on his own.

Well, it appears Blak's opinion will not be needed. I just got a PM from him in which he said he is leaving Court Records. While he hasn't ruled out returning at a later date, his departure means that Lucius will be removed from the RP. In light of the departure of two players, I've decided to allow each player to introduce an additional character if they so desire. These characters will be introduced on a mission-by-mission basis. Also, while I'm keeping the player's identity hidden for the time being, someone actually sent me a PM a while ago expressing an interest in joining. As such, there will be a fourth player during the next battle.

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